Finally, after 5 months and 20 odd days my tifaifai quilts have come back to me. In that time I have made two claims to Aus Post to find the quilts had the Ombudsman investigate to no avail, to find last weekend that tracking information had changed to indicate that they had been in North Melbourne since 23 August. I can tell you that I checked tracking on a weekly basis and on no occasion until last week sometime had there been any indication that the quilts were anywhere. So first thing Monday I was on the phone to be told that yes the quilts were in unclaimed parcels- the person I spoke to could not tell me why and today they arrived on my door step. Why they were in unclaimed parcels is a mystery and why there was not a flag on the tracking record to indicate I had been searching for this parcel since the end of May... not only that, my name and address was on the parcel itself including my phone number and email address- this was apart from the label that was on the parcel. it would have been easy to see who the sender was.
I am feeling incredibly relieved that they are back- it was a years worth of original work which was done in a time when my health was not great. I doubt whether the book contract will be resurrected- in any case I am not prepared to commit the work to the postal system or indeed courier system to anywhere- there is too much time and myself invested in these works. I feel as if a great weight has been lifted and I can breathe again. I had tried to not let what had happened affect me too greatly these last months but the way I feel today I know that the loss of the work did have its impact- that it made me sadder and a bit more fragile- maybe that feeling will ease now. In all there were 12 quilts in the parcel- so it was a substantial box so a body of work you might say.
I love the colours in the bottom piece. It reminds me of the poppies on the edge of wheatfields on an early summer's day- a happy calm feeling.
